Beckford breaks 2-minute barrier, Fowler clocks 800m best in Florida

Kelly-Ann Beckford and Kevongaye Fowler both produced career-shaping 800 metres runs for Jamaica at Saturday’s Under Armour Track and Field Nationals at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Beckford, Jamaica’s reigning national 800m champion, won the Pro National women’s two-lap race in 1:58.88, marking the first time she has gone below two minutes. Victoria Bossong of New Balance followed in 1:59.51, while United States runner McKenzie Kevaughn placed third in 2:00.81.

The performance represented a major step forward for Beckford, who had carried a previous lifetime best of 2:00.17. She ran that mark in Freeport, Bahamas, at the 2025 NACAC Championships, where she took bronze.

Fowler, an Edwin Allen High athlete and this year’s ISSA Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships Class Two 800m winner, also left Florida with a new standard. She finished second in 2:05.74, improving on her old best of 2:07.64.

Kaitlyn Estep won Fowler’s race in 2:04.78, with Ava Kavanaugh of the United States third in 2:06.01.

Fowler’s run was made more notable by the quality of the field, as she beat several members of the IMG Academy squad that captured the High School Championships of America 4x800m title at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia earlier this year.

Her coach, Michael Dyke, travelled to Florida for the meet and said he was pleased with what Fowler gained from the outing.

"I think it was a great experience for Kevongaye, competing against some of the USA's top 800-metre girls and placing second with a huge personal best, and I am happy for her," said Dyke.

Dyke, however, believes the Edwin Allen runner has more time to take off once her race management improves.

"I think, however, it was a poorly executed race, and she could have gone much faster, but this shows her true potential because once she learns how to better organise and distribute her effort over the two laps, I am confident she can break the national junior record," said Dyke, who also felt that Jamaica’s young middle-distance athletes need more chances to test themselves against elite competition.

Two other Jamaicans also competed at the meet.

Navasky Anderson, Jamaica’s senior men’s 800m record holder, was second in the Pro Professional men’s race, clocking 1:44.56. Wes Ferguson of the United States edged him for the win in 1:44.41, while Handal Roban of St Vincent took third in 1:45.08.

Edwin Allen’s Joel Morgan, who won the Class One 800m title at this year’s ISSA Boys and Girls’ Championships, placed eighth in the boys’ race in 1:50.59. Joshua Sharpe won in 1:47.22, ahead of Nicholas Ferguson, who ran 1:48.54, and Ryan Georgesson, who finished third in 1:48.61.